Three men killed in West Woodlawn apartment

March 28, 2012|By William Lee | Tribune reporter

Chicago police investigate a shooting that killed three men in the West Woodlawn neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. Terry L. Brown, 34, was found lying in a pool of blood in a hallway between a bedroom and the kitchen, police said. Another man, Julius Benford, 29, was discovered in the kitchen with several wounds. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. A third, unidentified man, believed to be in his 30s, was discovered on the back porch with several gunshot wounds. (Devlin Brown, for the Chicago Tribune)

Three men were gunned down in an apartment in the West Woodlawn neighborhood on the South Side, police said.

A relative of one of the victims discovered the men at about 11:15 p.m. in the 6300 block of South Evans Avenue, authorities said.

Terry L. Brown, 34, was found lying in a pool of blood in a hallway between a bedroom and the kitchen, police said.

Another man, Julius Benford, 29, was discovered in the kitchen with several wounds. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

A third, unidentified man, believed to be in his 30s, was discovered on the back porch with several gunshot wounds.

Autopsies were scheduled for later today.

Authorities described a gruesome scene inside the apartment: Blood-spattered walls and nearly two dozen bullet casings leading from the back porch into the home. Shots were believed to have been fired from at least two weapons.

Police didn't offer a motive for the slaying, but a source said narcotics and bundles of cash were found wrapped in plastic in the bedroom.

Records also show Brown was on parole for a 2009 drug conviction.

One witness reported seeing a black minivan fleeing the scene through the alley after hearing the gunshots, authorities said. Police had made no arrests as of this morning.